OJ Simpson’s (L) father Jimmy Lee Simpson (R) was reportedly a gay drag queen. (Mickey Osterreicher/ESPN Films via AP/Getty)
It has been reported that the father of disgraced NFL star OJ Simpson, who has died at the age of 76, was a gay man who performed as a drag queen in San Francisco.
Simpson, a former American Football star, broadcaster and actor had been battling prostate cancer and died yesterday (10 April), a family statement said.
In 1994, having retiring from sport, OJ Simpson was charged with the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, after they were stabbed to death outside her home. Following one of the most closely watched trials in US history, he was acquitted, but later found liable for their wrongful deaths in a civil court case.
In 2008, he was convicted for his part in an armed robbery in Las Vegas and jailed for 33 years but was paroled in 2017.
In the 1970s, he appeared in blockbusters such as The Towering Inferno as well as the hit TV series, Roots, and later in comedy The Naked Gun 33 1⁄3. He had been suffering from cancer since last year.
Was OJ Simpson’s father, Jimmy Lee, a gay drag queen?
According to Bustle, The Lies of OJ Simpson, a book written by George Carpozi Jr, included an account from an unnamed source to support the claim that Jimmy Lee Simpson was gay.
The source claimed that: “Mama Simpson, as he was known to me, used to hang around the hotel where I lived and was frequently dressed in drag. Everyone knew he was OJ’s dad.”
Another book, The Run of His Life, by Jeffrey Toobin, also alleged that Jimmy was gay and an active member of San Francisco’s drag community, Bustle reported.
A 2016 documentary, O.J.: Made in America, also supported the claims, with one of OJ Simpson’s childhood friends, Calvin Tennyson, saying: “One day we went over to his dad’s house, and we knocked on the door. When his dad opened the door, he was in a bathrobe, which is not a crime.
“But then [he] kind of opened the door more, and there was a guy in the back in a bathrobe too. It was obvious that his dad was gay.”
Toobin’s book also suggests that Jimmy died of an Aids-related illness.
Did OJ Simpson have a good relationship with his father, Jimmy Lee?
OJ Simpson was reportedly not close with his father, Jimmy Lee. In a 1977 interview with Parents magazine, as reported by The New York Times, OJ said: “I resented his absence, especially when I became a teenager and was trying to find out who I was… I really needed a man around then for guidance.”
The friction in their relationship could have been caused by his Jimmy Lee’s sexuality. OJ, regarded as one of the greatest running backs of all time after 10 years playing for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers, publicly voiced opposition to transgender people competing in professional sports.
[pn_comments_all add=true]